Photo: Jeep
Until now, word on the street was that Jeep would adapt the next-generation Grand Cherokee’s platform to make the all-new Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer happen. That’s not the case, however, as per Fiat Chrysler head honcho Sergio Marchionne.
Speaking to the media at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show, Fiat Chrysler’s numero uno confirmed that the Wagoneer twins will go body-on-frame, not unibody as everyone in their right minds expected them to. This announcement is all the more perplexing because Sergio previously hinted that the next-gen Grand Cherokee could use a modular platform designed for Alfa Romeo.
Automotive News implies that the $140,000 Grand Wagoneer can’t possibly cut it as a body-on-frame SUV, at least not at that price point. Instead, the cited publication believes that Jeep is aiming to challenge General Motors’s full-size SUV trio: Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade.
“Marchionne has previously said that he coveted the profits GM generates from its large SUVs,” underlines Automotive News. In a way, I completely agree with that. It’s doable as well, provided that FCA US LLC keeps its promise to make the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer at Warren Truck Assembly. The Detroit-based factory currently builds the Ram 1500 pickup.
Expected to cost anything between $60,000 and $100,000, the 2020 Jeep Wagoneer will be as upmarket as one can expect from a range-topping model. The Grand Wagoneer, meanwhile, is expected to boast a longer wheelbase. And thanks to the body-on-frame construction, both models are going to kick ass off the beaten track as long as the tires are off-road ready.
On the downside, when was the last time you’ve heard someone pay 100 big ones on a body-on-frame sport utility vehicle? That’s a pretty steep price point to be brutally honest, an ambition on a grand scale from Jeep’s part.
I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed Marchionne is right on this one.
Automotive News implies that the $140,000 Grand Wagoneer can’t possibly cut it as a body-on-frame SUV, at least not at that price point. Instead, the cited publication believes that Jeep is aiming to challenge General Motors’s full-size SUV trio: Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade.
“Marchionne has previously said that he coveted the profits GM generates from its large SUVs,” underlines Automotive News. In a way, I completely agree with that. It’s doable as well, provided that FCA US LLC keeps its promise to make the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer at Warren Truck Assembly. The Detroit-based factory currently builds the Ram 1500 pickup.
Expected to cost anything between $60,000 and $100,000, the 2020 Jeep Wagoneer will be as upmarket as one can expect from a range-topping model. The Grand Wagoneer, meanwhile, is expected to boast a longer wheelbase. And thanks to the body-on-frame construction, both models are going to kick ass off the beaten track as long as the tires are off-road ready.
On the downside, when was the last time you’ve heard someone pay 100 big ones on a body-on-frame sport utility vehicle? That’s a pretty steep price point to be brutally honest, an ambition on a grand scale from Jeep’s part.
I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed Marchionne is right on this one.
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